Friday, July 21, 2017

Linkin Park lead singer Chester Bennington dead in apparent suicide

Chester Bennington, the lead vocalist of rap-metal band Linkin Park, was found dead in a Southern California home Thursday, the Los Angeles County coroner’s office confirmed. He was 41.

Law enforcement officials called the L.A. County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner shortly after 9 a.m. on Thursday, reporting an apparent suicide, said department spokesman Brian Elias. The investigation into Bennington’s death is ongoing.

The news, first reported by TMZ, came just hours after Linkin Park released a music video for “Talking To Myself” off the band’s 2017 album, “One More Light.”

“Shocked and heartbroken, but it’s true,” tweeted Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda. “An official statement will come out as soon as we have one.”

Palos Verdes Estates Police confirmed that officers responded to a call about a dead body in a local residence but referred questions to the coroner’s office, which is investigating the case.

Originally from Arizona, Bennington joined the Southern California band in the late 1990s. Their 2000 release “Hybrid Theory” became a massive commercial hit, selling more than 10 million albums in the United States and even more globally. It also catapulted the band into stardom and sparked cross-genre mash-ups, such as the 2004 EP “Collision Course,” a collaboration album between the band and rapper Jay-Z.

In addition to Linkin Park, Bennington was a member of Stone Temple Pilots from 2013 to 2015, when he left to spend more time with his family and “focus solely on Linkin Park.” He was also part of a side project, Dead by Sunrise, which released the album “Out of Ashes” in 2009.

Bennington was friends with Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell, who died in May in what authorities ruled as a suicide. Thursday would have been Cornell’s 53rd birthday.

“I’m still weeping, with sadness, as well as gratitude for having shared some very special moments with you and your beautiful family,” Bennington wrote in a tribute to Cornell shortly after his death.

On Thursday, musicians and entertainers shared their condolences about Bennington’s death.